Empty Nest
by MACRA
Summary: Mako gets used living alone. Sort of. Maybe.


Mako dumped the entire jumbo sized package of noodles into the pot of boiling water without thinking. When he realized what he'd done, he cursed quietly. Well, there was nothing for it now. He might as well make the best of the situation. He set his wind-up kitchen timer for the correct cooking time and went to the phone to make a call.

The number he dialed didn't pick up until the seventh ring. He let out a small sigh of relief when he heard a click and Korra's voice on the other end say "Hello?"

"Korra! It's Mako," he said brightly. "I was wondering if you and Asami would like to come over for dinner."

"Gee, I'm sorry," Korra said. "Asami had to go out of town, and I already accepted an invitation from Pema to join her, Tenzin, and the kids at Air Temple Island."

"Oh. No worries. Have a good time. Be sure to say 'Hi' for me."

"You know," Korra said. "How long has it been since you've been to the island? I could call Pema and see if it would be OK for you to come along. I bet they'd all love to see you."

"No, that's OK. I already started cooking." He sighed. "The fact of the matter is I made a bit too much for one person by mistake."

There was a brief pause on the other end of the line. "I see," Korra said. Mako winced. He'd been half expecting her to ask "Again?" He wasn't sure that this wasn't worse. "I'll tell you what," Korra continued. "It won't help you with your extra food, but I'll come around afterward. I'll bring dessert, my treat."

"You don't have to," Mako began.

"Nonsense. It will be my pleasure. Around nine OK for you?"

She was using her won't-take-no-for-an-answer tone. Mako couldn't help smiling. "Sure. And Korra? Thanks."

"No problem. See you then."

After his dinner, Mako spent some time cleaning up the apartment. He lost all track of time and was caught by surprise when the doorbell rang. "Just a second," he called out, putting down his sponge.

He opened the door to find Korra holding two large take-away cups with straws. She thrust one toward him. "Here you go. Deluxe milkshake from Mali's. Lychee is still your favorite flavor, right?"

He accepted the cup with a smile. "Thanks. Come on in." He took a sip. "Hey, it's still nice and thick."

"Oh, please," Korra said with a wave of her hand. "The day I can't keep two milkshakes cold for a seven block walk is the day I stop calling myself a waterbender." She followed him in to the main room of the apartment and then stopped. "So what's with the ladder and the bucket?" she said pointing.

Mako rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, it occurred to me the ceiling has never been cleaned since I moved in. I figured it must be getting filthy."

Korra looked up. "Well, it looks like you did a really good job to me."

"I've barely started."

Korra furrowed her brow. "Which part have you done already?"

Mako slumped in a chair. "Maybe it wasn't as urgent as I thought."

Korra plopped herself on the sofa and stirred her milkshake with her straw. "So, how long has it been since Bolin moved to Ba Sing Se with Opal?"

Mako shrugged. "About three weeks." Three weeks and four days, but who was counting.

"Uh huh. Been out much since then?"

Mako shifted in his seat. "Oh, well, you know. Things have been pretty crazy at work recently. I usually don't have much energy at the end of the day."

Korra leaned back and took a long pull on her milkshake before speaking. "By the way, Lin also got invited to dinner at the island."

"Oh."

"She says organized crime is at an all-time low in the city. She actually almost smiled when she said it."

"Oh," he repeated. There didn't seem to be anything else to say, so he took another drink from his shake.

She gave him a crooked smile. "I get it. You're like me. Left to my own devices, I'd stay home all the time. We're not the mixers in the crowd. Bolin was the one who made things happen in our group. I haven't been as good a friend as I should since he left, and I'm gonna do better by you. But when you're feeling lonely, you should try something a little more ambitious than last minute dinner invitations, yeah?"

Mako leaned back and chewed his lip. Aw hell, he thought, just come out with it. "That's not exactly what's been going on. Fixing too much food, that's not an excuse. I really keep on doing it by mistake. I've been looking after Bolin for most of my life. Don't get me wrong, he pulled his own weight. But I was the one in charge. Even this past year where he'd basically moved in with Opal in all but name alone, he'd come by and raid the fridge."

Korra laughed. "That boy can put it away."

Mako raised an eyebrow. "As I recall, you were always able to keep up with the champ in that area."

She waved a hand. "Hey, I've got to eat for Raava as well as myself."

He looked at her skeptically. "Does it really work that way?"

"That's my story and I'm sticking to it. Anyway, I didn't mean to interrupt."

"I don't know that there's much more too it. Looking after Bolin's a hard habit to shake, even though he's not actually around anymore."

"How'd you handle it when he was off with Kuvira's army?"

Mako grimaced. "Badly. That was the one good thing about being Wu's bodyguard. The annoyance distracted me from worrying about Bolin. This is better. He's in a nice safe place, there's no wars going on. He's just not… here."

"Well, if we assume inviting Wu back to Republic City is the last resort…"

"Yes, please. Let's assume that."

"My parents have talked to me about how they handled me going away," Korra continued. "Obviously this is second hand, so take it for what it's worth. You're probably not going to stop missing him, but that doesn't mean you can't build a life that's your own. Maybe it would help if you found something that's just yours. Something you never did with Bolin. There anything like that you've wanted to do but never got around to?"

Mako drank more of his shake as he thought. "Bowling," he said at last.

Korra blinked. "Not what I was expecting. But sure, let's go for that. Pick a night, and we'll go bowling. If you wait to the end of the week, Asami will be back and can join us."

Mako looked at her skeptically. "She'll be OK with being volunteered for this?"

Korra dismissed this with a wave of her hand. "I've heard about bowling. It involves shoes and physics, two of her favorite things. She'll love it."

"I'm not sure if I want to be present to see you explain this to her or be safely on a different continent."

"Oh, don't be such a wuss. Do we have a deal?"

"So you think this will fix everything."

"No. But it will get you out of your apartment doing something fun instead of brooding over how dirty your ceiling is." She held up her cup. "To something new. Right?"

He laughed and got up to bump his shake against hers. "I'll drink to that."

* * *

A/N: Submission for Pro-Bending Circuit, season 5 round 1.

Long distance relationship challenge - write about two people who are apart from the POV of one of them.

Words: 1263

Bonus prompt: (character) Korra

Team: Red Sands Rabaroos

Element: Water


End file.
